Have and Have Not

No one can say that life is fair. There are people who are born into a well-to-do family having all the material comforts and more opportunities to pursuit their ideals and dreams. There are people who are born into a family of poverty having to spend times to help out to make ends meet with scarce moments to reflect on who and what they are. There are people who are born with special talents that they have no problem figuring out what they are going to do in their life. They are people who are born with special disability that they need the help of the others to spend the rest of their life. There are people who are able to move to a society where employment opportunity is abundant and making a good living requires minimum effort. There are people who are stuck in a society with high employment rate and finding minimum-waged jobs is a challenge. No matter what the circumstances are, the person has few choices but to follow the journey of life to its completion.

Nations that have

Today, there are around 196 nations on Earth, each with its own territory and well-defined border. Some nations have fertile land good for agriculture and farming; some have oil and minerals good for energy and building materials and some have neither. How much natural resources a nation has greatly affects the well beings of its people. United States of America is a young nation with no more than 300 years of history. Its territory covers vast areas of fertile land and natural resources. Its people lives in a free and democratic society that offers higher education, encourages freedom of speech, appreciates, tolerates, and embraces diversity in culture and personal belief. The result is a robust economy fueled by innovative ideas, bold experiments, and nothing-is-impossible mentality. Its people enjoy high living standard and material comfort that are the envy of the rest of the world and make USA the number one immigration destination.

Neighborhoods that Have

In USA, the residential areas can be identified with different degrees of affluence. Some neighborhoods have tree-lined streets, well-maintained yards, and mansion-like houses. Only people with above average financial background can afford to live in them. Some of the people make their fortune from business dealings, some inherit the fortune, and not all fortunes are made because of hard work. On the other end of the spectrum, some neighborhoods have streets with cracked sidewalks, lawns with litters and dying plants, and houses with peeled paints and termite infestation. People, who have a difficult time seeking good employment to make ends meet, find refuge in these neighborhoods with minimum material comfort. Their predicament is not all attributed to not working hard, lacking proper education, and or without specialized skill.

People that Have

To be successful and at the top of the profession in the business world, it takes more than hard work and personal connections. For example:

1. In the movie industry, the high-paid actors not only have to work hard for their popularity but also have to possess those innate qualities that can relate and attract the general public. Anybody can play the role of a hero, romantics, or villain and the actor who is able to leave a long lasting impression on the audience after the show is over becomes the movie star.

2. In a big corporation that employs thousands of workers, its success and staying power usually rely on the vision and leadership of one person. It is not a job for the average Joe. The person usually works long hours, has good communication and negotiation skills, knows how to make use of the resources one has and where to get the resources that one does not have, and most importantly, comes up with the necessary decisions and changes against all odds. The school can teach what need to be done but how and when to do them comes from within.

3. In the world of professional sports, in every team (baseball, basketball, football, etc.), there is at least one super athlete who can influence how a game is won single-handedly with the superhuman skill. A skill that is the result of the seamless coordination from the brain, to the eyes, and to the rest of the body. No amount of nutrition, training, and coaching can turn a person into a super athlete if the person is not built for the task.

Inequality and Unfairness

We live in a world of inequality and unfairness; the have and the have not, the strong and the weak, the normal and the abnormal, the smart and the fool, the majority and the minority, etc. There are nations where their inhabitants enjoy free education and affordable material comfort. There are nations that are plagued by political instability, civil war, and starvation. There are people with little education or training can play beautiful music, solve complex mathematical problems, or write bestselling book, etc. There are people who struggle to balance the book at home but have great zest to make money. There are people who have no interest in politics and economics never give up on freedom and prosperity. Nations are built by many people over long span of time. No one has a choice where to build them just like no one has a choice to be born in a wealthy or poor nation. All that a person can do is to make the best of the circumstances. No one can control what one is capable of. All one can do is to realize one’s full potential; good or bad, constructive or destructive. Life is not about equality or fairness but about people doing what they are good at, playing the role that they are supposed to on a stage called Nature. We have seen how it all plays out among other living species:

1. Shark, seal, whale, penguin, etc, in the ocean,

2. Lion, zebra, crocodile, elephant, etc, on the Africa savanna,

3. Plant, insect, bird, monkey, etc, in the forest.

   We, the human species, are just doing the same thing but on a more complex, elaborate, and intelligent ways in the allotted times of the have and the have not.